


So Far Away

by lamekookie



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), EXO (Band), I.O.I (Band), NCT (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band), f(x), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter Crossover - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 16:34:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8021101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamekookie/pseuds/lamekookie
Summary: In the world of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there reigns a handful of prominent pureblood families. Kang Seulgi belongs to the scholarly Kang household, one of the three oldest pureblood families in the entire community. All her life she's been trained to become the perfect pureblood daughter, fated to marry within the community and live off her days as a trophy wife.  However, she secretly abhors the tradition and wants no part in it. How will she fare as societal standards pressure her more and more until she breaks? Will she and Lee Taeyong, son and heir to the most affluent pureblood line, be forced to get back together even after their disastrous breakup? Or perhaps, after seeing her budding friendship with Jung Jaehyun, favourite son of the richest purebloods, the Jungs, will she be forced to marry him instead? Will she ever break out of this torturous cycle the purebloods have caged themselves in?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: A Social Ball

“You know,” Seulgi pointed out. “I find it strange how we never get tired of going to these parties.”

Below her was another pureblood social ball in full swing. All the pureblood families were present; even the elusive Jung family can be seen socializing with others. She could even spot her junior Chaeyeon with her fraternal twin Jaehyun, standing obediently beside their parents as they become the topic of the conversation. It was unusual for most prominent pureblood families to be present, especially for parties thrown by any of the Kim families. 

There was a good reason for it, however; tomorrow, the kids will be off to Hogwarts and will only come back home for the Christmas break, so this will be the last social ball the families would be able to attend for a while. At least, the kind of ball where you can bring your children. Seulgi was sure the parents held secret gatherings among themselves—how else would copious amounts of their expensive wine collection at home disappear? For this particular party, though, Seulgi had forced her parents to attend it; it was, after all, held by the family of her best friend, Kim Namjoon.

The social ball this time was hosted by one of the three Kim families. It was held in their ball room, and although it will never hold a candle to the Lee’s or even the Kang’s, it still held its own. She was just glad there was a balcony she could escape to. This specific balcony was actually one of her favourites, as she’s always frequented Namjoon’s manor ever since they were children.

Namjoon glanced at Seulgi, who was leaning on the balcony, calmly observing the happenings down below. “I find it strange how you never get tired of analysing people.” The two were in their usual position in social balls; hidden, preferably within a balcony, with Namjoon reading and Seulgi observing people down below.

She stepped back from the balcony and approached her friend, who was sitting on a plush chair with a book on his hand. “Says the boy who always brings a book to a party,” she peeked at the cover. “Oh, Frankenstein? Again? You know, you should really be careful with that, Joon-ah. Bringing a muggle book to a social ball…”

“I know, I know,” He shut his book and carefully placed it inside the pocket of his suit. “I appreciate the concern, Seul. You know I do, right?”

His eloquence, equipped with his voice, is always a pleasant welcome to Seulgi’s ears. “I hope your sudden sentimentality wasn’t because of Dr. Frankenstein.” She coldly replied.

“I’m always sentimental,” he calmly replied. Seulgi can’t argue with that; it was true, after all. Unlike most boys her age, Namjoon’s maturity is way beyond his years. She preferred that kind of personality, anyway. She thought it suited her cold personality perfectly. Most of all, Namjoon doesn’t play mind games with her, unlike practically everyone else.

Namjoon offered his arm to her, which she gracefully accepted. “Your mother’s probably already looking for you.” he said as they exited the balcony.

“I wish you’d stop saying that,” Seulgi nonchalantly replied. “You know that’s not true.”

He just shrugged his shoulders. “You may think what you wish.” 

Soon enough, the two reached the ground floor. A few of the parents looked their way, most likely curious as to what the relationship of the two were. As always, though, they would not think too much of the relationship between them; it was well-known within the pureblood families how Seulgi and Namjoon have always been platonic with each other. It may sound like a superficial matter to some, but for pureblood families who always worry about who their children would get engaged to, this was prime information.

“Would you like a drink?” Namjoon asked her as they moved slowly, gracefully, among the crowd. “Yes, thank you. I’m parched.” She replied eloquently.

They bowed whenever they came across a parent, and made small talk whenever they bumped into someone their age. This was typical proper pureblood etiquette; it was practically second nature for them to act this way.

“Wait here,” He said as he left to look for a house elf. Seulgi didn’t mind being left alone for a while; it gave her time to observe the throng of people surrounding her. There were pros and cons to being in the midst of all this; a definite pro would be that she could see everything much closer. A significant con, however, was how it was inevitable for someone to approach her to make small talk. If she could avoid petty conversations for the rest of her life, she would perhaps do just that.

“Kang Seulgi, is that you?” There it was, the dreaded con: Lee Yoonhee and Woohyun of the most prominent and powerful pureblood family, the Lee household, appeared in front of Seulgi right when she was alone.

She was cornered. There was no way she could escape the situation without appearing to be rude. Besides, her parents were watching, she had no choice but to entertain them. “Yes, abeonim and eomonim, it’s me. I’m sorry it took so long for me to greet you again.” Seulgi bowed formally. Actually, she’d been actively avoiding any person with the surname Lee for the entire night.

Yoonhee stroked her hair affectionately. “It really has been too long, hasn’t it, Woohyun? We’ve missed you terribly.” she smiled at Seulgi in a motherly fashion.

“I hope both you and Taeyong wake up to your senses and get back together. You’re the only one I approve among the others, after all.” Woohyun said sternly, his stoic face ever more apparent as he said those words.

This was precisely why she wanted to avoid the crowd tonight, because she knew there was a high chance she would bump into her ex-boyfriend’s parents. She didn’t really feel like remembering something as unpleasant as her breakup with him, or any semblance of him at all, for that matter.

She wasn’t sure what the best response to that statement was. Was she to smile? Laugh it off? Agree? “I’m honoured you think of me so highly, abeonim,” she bowed again.

“Hush,” Yoonhee nudged her husband. “You’re giving the poor thing a hard time. It’s okay, we’ll give you both some time to think things through. In fact, Taeyong is over there—you should go greet him.” she gestured at a corner within the room, dubbed by Seulgi and Namjoon as the ‘superficial circle’. What else could it be other than that, though? With expensive couches surrounding each other, it’s an obvious invitation to flaunt oneself to others. It’s usually where the youth, such as her, hang out and meet with others her age.

“Of course, eomonim,” she bowed once more. “In behalf of Namjoon, I hope you have a wonderful time in his residence.”

Yoonhee squeezed her hand gently. “Ever so polite, this one.”

“Not many respect the old tradition, Seulgi,” Woohyun warned. “We need to preserve what we treasure, do we not?”

“Of course, abeonim. Our blood is one of the strongest, after all.” These are words she’s already memorized in her head. None of them hold any meaning to her, but it always pleases the adults to hear their traditional ways being spoken by the next generation like her. It was one of the lessons her mother never forgot to teach her.

“We await your return, my child,” Woohyun pressed his hand on her shoulder. She bowed once more, and, finally, the Lee’s went off to most likely continue circling the room, gathering their admirers and social climbers with them.

Seulgi let out a small sigh as soon as they left. “I heard everything. You did great, Seul.” Namjoon approached her with their drinks in hand. He handed one over to her, which she took gratefully.

“That should be enough to please my parents for tonight.” She murmured as she took a sip of the champagne. 

Namjoon offered his arm once more, and led the way. “I’m afraid you may have spoken too soon.” he replied in a hush tone. When she realised where they were headed to, she wholeheartedly agreed. 

“Oh, Merlin,” Seulgi sighed. She had forgotten she promised to head over to that dreaded circle.

“It’ll be fine,” Namjoon comforted her. “Some of our friends are there as well.”

She patted their connected arms affectionately. “I’m sure you mean well, Joon-ah, but I believe the cons heavily outweigh the pros in this matter.”

Namjoon could only roll his eyes at her. Soon enough, they reached the area where the circle diverged into two smaller circles. It was clear where the two would go to: the circle where the Lee, Kim, Jung, Chittaphon-Pranpriya, and Kang households were seated in. For better or worse, Seulgi grew up with these people, and within the pureblood community, you had no choice but to closely associate with your other fellow purebloods. 

The other circle composed of the Park, Zhang-Zhou, Jeon, and other lesser pureblood families such as the Bae, Lim, Min, and Byun households. There was a clear hierarchy here; but even within that there was still a structure to be followed. 

The Lee household ruled over them all: they are seen as the oldest and most powerful pureblood who pioneered the wizarding society. The Jung and Kang households are second to that, with the Jungs being considered the richest among all families. The Kangs are known to be the scholars out of the three, with the most vast library found within their very own home, and rare, crucial secrets of the wizarding world carefully passed down to each generation. The Chittaphon-Pranpriya household originated from Bangkok, and currently the family holds the most power over the entire Asian continent. The Kim household was the most common out of the three; even just within their circle there were already fourteen of them. However, the Kims are usually warring within each other, always battling for whoever’s the more dominant Kim household. Personally, Seulgi believed it was Namjoon’s family that held more sovereignty than the other two, but that could just be her own biased opinion.

And so she found herself in front of her childhood ‘friends’; Kim Taehyung with his siblings Minseok, Sejeong, and Yeri, Kim Jongin with his siblings Junmyeon, Jongdae, Chungha, and Jennie, Namjoon’s siblings Seokjin, Jisoo, Doyeon, and Sohye, Jung Krystal and Hoseok with their siblings Chaeyeon and Jaehyun, Chittaphon-Pranpriya Ten with his sibling Lisa, and lastly, in the midst of them all, Lee Taeyong with his siblings Mark and Haechan. 

The cliques were apparent: her own brother, Minhyuk, was in there as well, though he and the other eighth and seventh years, Seokjin, Minseok, Junmyeon, and Jongdae were in their own almost-adult world. Jongin had his arms around Krystal with Chungha, Jennie, Jisoo, Doyeon, Sohye, and Lisa flocking the couple. In the centre of that particular group sat Taeyong, with Ten sitting on his right side. Hoseok, along with Chaeyeon, Jaehyun, Taehyung, Mark, and Haechan were near the end of the circle.

It was truly a homogeneous bunch; if Seulgi were to be honest, she would even go as far as to say that she’s getting tired of seeing their faces all of her life. But just like them, Seulgi had a responsibility as a member of one of the great households, so she tucked away that thought deep in her mind. 

“Oh, so the two of you finally decided to grace us with your presence?” Hoseok teased as the two approached his group, before continuing his conversation with the boys. Seulgi purposefully ignored the sudden glares coming from the girls within Taeyong’s circle. She has gotten quite good at that, if she were to brag.

Ever since she and Taeyong broke up, Seulgi stopped hanging out with his group of friends and went back to just quietly being by Namjoon’s side, which inevitably made her become closer with his group of friends. She knew what those girls whispered about her: how could she break up with Taeyong? Now she’s stopped hanging out with him? Has she gone mad?

She doesn’t hear a thing.

“Eonni, sit beside me, please.” Chaeyeon gestured to the space beside her. 

Seulgi let go of Namjoon and sat beside her. It seems the boys were talking about quidditch as usual, effectively excluding Chaeyeon from their conversation. She overheard Taehyung raving about the Harpies’ win over some other quidditch team Seulgi didn’t care about.

“They’ve been at it as soon as dinner ended,” Chaeyeon sighed, her rose-pink lips turning into a delicate frown. “I wish they would start talking about matters other than boring, old quidditch.”

Seulgi just squeezed her hand in response. That kind of request was foolish, for she knew that these boys would talk about quidditch even on their death beds. 

Jaehyun, who was on Chaeyeon’s other side, tilted his head sideways so that his face was in clear view of her. It never fails to astonish Seulgi how blindingly attractive the younger Jung twins were. In particular, she found Jaehyun to be annoyingly attractive. His dimpled smile and milk-white skin never fail to catch her off-guard, much like at that very moment. 

“Well, I wish Seulgi noona hung out more with us, so that we’d have more to talk about rather than boring, old quidditch.” He let out his dimpled smile, causing Chaeyeon to glare at him.

“Well,” Seulgi calmly replied. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Always so serious, aren’t you, noona?” He teased. Many find it hard to approach Seulgi because of her stoic and serious personality, so she’s always found it strange how the Jung twins can be so carefree around her. Jaehyun especially loves playing around with her even if he was three years younger than her.

Chaeyeon waved him away. “Oh, go talk to the boys about your beloved sport. I reserve the right to monopolise my eonnie, so you can go away now.”

Seulgi couldn’t help but let out a small laugh over the twins’ banter. “Stop being ridiculous, Chaeyeon-ah. Seulgi noona prefers me over you, so stop embarrassing yourself.” Jaehyun suddenly stood up and sat on Seulgi’s other side, holding one of Seulgi’s hands.

Chaeyeon proceeded to grab the other. “Don’t you have a quidditch match you need to bet into? I’m sure father will be thrilled your wasting away our money, by the way.”

Jaehyun squeezed Seulgi’s hand as he replied sarcastically. “I’m sure father will be so angry,” he rolled his eyes at her. “Even though he was the one who taught me how to bet in the first place.”

Seulgi was at a loss on what to do. She looked over at Namjoon, who was quietly listening to Hoseok and Taehyung arguing. 

Help? She mouthed to him. Namjoon only shook his head and laughed. 

“Oh, by the way, eonni, I think perhaps it’s time you greeted Taeyong oppa’s group. I can feel their eyes sending daggers to my back.” Chaeyeon nonchalantly observed. Seulgi looked over towards his group, and truthfully, the younger girls were giving subtle glares in her direction.

“I’ll come with you,” Jaehyun said.

She gently shook off their grip on her hands. “It’s fine, Jaehyunie. I’ll be back soon.” She stood up with practiced elegance on her shoulders, and headed towards the leader of the elite pack.

Taeyong sat at the centre of them all, with Jongin and Ten on both his sides. Krystal was leaning against Jongin, while the younger girls flocked around the three. There was an immediate hush as soon as Seulgi appeared in front of them.

There was an unspoken rule among them that Taeyong had absolute power over them all. Ages don’t matter in that area; only his purest blood does. Even when they were dating, Seulgi found it hard to keep things casual and informal with him. And to think she withstood all this nonsense for three years. How did she survive?

Even now that they’ve broken up, she was still forced to report to him like she was some sort of slave he had to monitor and check on periodically. Just the thought of it drives her mad with frustration, but she forces herself to keep it all in. Do it for your bloody ancestors, Seulgi reminded herself.

She locked eyes with him, his endless black pits for pupils slowly swallowing her piercing brown eyes. “Taeyong-ah,” she greeted him with a slight disdain in her voice that only he would be able to detect. It was no secret they broke up, so she didn’t have to pretend that absolutely everything was fine. 

He pretended not to notice the iciness in her voice. “Seul,” he smiled at her. After the two exchanged greetings, conversation started to pick up within the group again.

She had no desire putting up pretences with him regardless of his position and power. She was a Kang, after all. She didn’t need another powerful pureblood to validate her position in society. “Well, it’s good seeing you again.” Both of them knew it was a lie, of course, as she slowly took a step back away from the crowd.

“Wait,” Taeyong stood up suddenly, causing everyone inside the circle to look at the two. “I would like to walk around the gardens for a bit. Will you accompany me, Kang Seulgi?”

What game are you playing? She wanted to ask so badly, but even he had attracted the attention of her parents, so she had no choice but to play into his hands.

She offered her hand as he tucked it into his arm. “If I must.” she replied dully. 

And so off the two went, leaving behind dozens of eyes curious as to why the two needed time alone to be together. Well, whatever the case was, Seulgi wasn’t going to just fall right into it. 

After a few minutes of awkward silence, they reached the spacious gardens of the Kim household. 

Seulgi tried to yank her arm out of Taeyong’s grip, but he wasn’t budging. “The elves are watching, Seul,” he warned in a low tone. “We best not give them anything to report to our parents about.”

“We have nothing to talk about, Taeyong.” She spoke with a particularly icy edge.

“Let’s not talk then,” he replied calmly. “Let’s just walk around the garden in peace and silence. You like the quiet, don’t you? That’s why you hang around with that Kim?”

“His name is Namjoon,” she glared at him. “And that’s only one of the reasons why he’s my closest friend. Stop pretending that you even care about my personal life.”

He brought his lips close to her ear. “Oh, Seul. Stop making things difficult. You know how this is going to end, don’t you?”

She leaned away from him as her face started to feel flustered. “That could have been true once… but not anymore.” 

She looked deep into his eyes. “I would like to go back to the hall.”

He stared at her for a couple minutes, then promptly nodded. “If that is what you wish.”

As much as Seulgi wanted to move at a quicker pace, they still had an image to uphold, so the two walked as leisurely as they could back to where everyone else was. 

“Next time, if you have something to say to me, I prefer you don’t make a scene before you do it.” she commented.

Taeyong smirked. “I know you dislike it when people look at you. That’s precisely why I did it.”

She rolled her eyes. He may have mellowed out, but Taeyong still had his mischievous ways.

When they returned back to the circle, no one even tried to hide their stares as the two separated. Seulgi went back to her own group and sat back down beside Chaeyeon, her heart aching for reasons she preferred not to dwell upon.

Chaeyeon didn’t say anything; she just took Seulgi’s hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. The boys continued talking as usual, but Mark kept on sending concerned glances towards her, making him impossible to ignore. Mark was one of Taeyong’s little brothers, his dongsaeng. He had a particular fondness for her, which she found surprisingly endearing. He wouldn’t make it obvious, but back when she and Taeyong used to date, he would subtly follow her around everywhere she went, whether it was back in the Lee manor or even inside the halls of Hogwarts.

“Mark,” she called out to him. Surprised, he immediately stood up and bowed to her. 

She smiled at Taeyong’s dongsaeng. “I’m fine, you know. Don’t worry about me.” Where Taeyong was all hard edges and serious expressions, Mark was soft and sensitive. She had no clue where such a gentle personality came from in a household infamous for its rigid traditionalist ways, but she knew she wanted to cherish such rare innocence as much as she could.

Mark sighed in relief before giving her his sunshine smile. “Visit us during the Christmas break, okay, noona?” And with that, he went back to talking with his hyungs.

Seulgi could only sigh at his unintended naivety. Mark’s innocence really was something to marvel about.

Namjoon came up to them and sat beside her. “Well, that was quick.” he commented.

She resisted the urge to punch him, choosing once again to keep it all in. “It couldn’t have been quick enough.” she replied nonchalantly.

“You know,” he observed. “It wouldn’t hurt to show a bit of humanity, Seul. We’re all human, after all.”

She looked at him sharply. “I’m not sure what you mean by that, Joon-ah.”

He played with his cufflinks before looking at her. “I think you do, though?”

Seulgi looked away from his knowing eyes. Of course he could see right through her; that’s one of his most annoyingly dominant characteristics

She didn’t want to think about it, though. She didn’t want to think at all if it was possible. She wanted to forget those pitch black eyes, his surprisingly vulnerable side, his betrayal… she didn’t need those to remind her how reality is constantly changing, that fantasies remain as what they are: as just fantasies.

“Chaeyeon-ah, move.” Jaehyun commanded his twin. Chaeyeon, though a bit peeved, did as he asked. 

Jaehyun then sat down beside Seulgi and leaned closer towards her. “Noona,” he softly called her out of her reverie. 

Seulgi blinked and got mildly surprised to see Jaehyun’s handsome face so close to hers. “Oh, Jaehyunie. You surprised me.”

Jaehyun subtly grabbed her hand from her back, tenderly stroking it as he spoke quietly. “What did you and Taeyong hyung talk about in the gardens?” Surprised that he would come so close to her in public like this, her heart started beating rapidly as she faintly looked around to see if anyone noticed. He hasn’t strictly broken protocol yet; but if he moved any closer he definitely will. 

She shook her head as she did her best to level her voice. “It was nothing, really. Just Lee Taeyong being himself.”

He sighed in relief. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Seulgi tilted her head slightly in confusion. “Why is that?”

Jaehyun leaned backwards to get a good look at her from the back, which caused Seulgi to blush not only because she felt her back was fully exposed to him, but at just how ridiculously attractive he was as he gave her a lazy smile. “If anything else had happened, I think I might die of jealousy, noona.”

Seulgi slapped his hand secretly as Namjoon looked over at the two. “Jaehyun-ah, stop flirting with Seul,” he scolded Jaehyun, who laughed out loud.

“And you,” Namjoon looked at a slightly blushing Seulgi. “Stop blushing too much. It’s embarrassing even me.”

“You are so going to get it from me tomorrow,” Seulgi glared at Jaehyun who just affectionately smiled at her. 

“I’ll be looking forward to it, noona.”

 

 

And there it is! Tell me your thoughts x


	2. A Busy Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ... “You are so going to get it from me tomorrow,” Seulgi glared at Jaehyun who just affectionately smiled at her. 
> 
> “I’ll be looking forward to it, noona.”

Chapter Two: A Busy Train

“I do hope you fix things with Woohyun-ah’s son, Kang Seulgi.” Her mother, Kang Ahyeon, let out a delicately frustrated sigh as she dusted imaginary dirt off of Seulgi’s crisp school robes.

Seulgi squeezed her fists shut as she restrained herself from talking back to her own mother. Such an act would already be highly disrespectful, but doing it on a public space such as Platform 9 3/4 would be incredibly embarrassing and damaging for her household’s reputation. Not that she held much importance for her social standing, but she can’t deny the privilege and power she’s enjoyed for most of her life was thanks to her pureblood lineage and the powerful Kang surname.

Regardless, Seulgi doesn’t plan on fulfilling her mother’s wishes—but she doesn’t have to know that. “I’ll do my best, eomma,” she murmured. “But there’s nothing more I can do if Taeyong himself doesn’t wish to be with me any longer.”

“He’s still totally in love with you, though?” Minhyuk, her brother, who just cannot keep his mouth shut, interrupted the two. He and their father had just come back from greeting another pureblood family—Seulgi assumed it was the Zhang-Zhou household, the only prominent pureblood family that was absent from last night's festivities, as she had spotted the Chinese siblings, Yixing and Jieqiong, when they had just arrived at the station. The Zhang-Zhou's are a mysterious bunch, so there wasn’t much to say about them. She has, however, spent some time with the two siblings before, and both seemed pleasant enough to not warrant any suspicion towards the family.

Their mother gasped as Seulgi rolled her eyes at her chuckling brother. “Please don’t listen to him, eomma. You know oppa likes to say whatever’s on his mind.” Internally, however, she was starting to grow antsy. Any conversation involving Taeyong that takes longer than necessary always makes her anxious to get it over with. And even if she and Minhyuk aren’t the closest siblings, she knew him to be just as observant as she is, so she at least knew his teasings weren’t ever unfounded.

Her father, Kang Baeksoo, gave Minhyuk a scolding look. “Don’t tease your dongsaeng so much, Minhyuk-ah,” However, he gave Seulgi a sideways glance. “But you are going to patch things up with the Lee boy, aren't you?”

Seulgi couldn’t help but feel a blush rise on her cheeks due to her parents’ insistent digging on her relationship with Taeyong. Desperate to change the topic, she just waved off his remarks. “Appa, please. Let’s not do this right now. You do know you won’t see Minhyuk oppa and I until Christmas break, right?”

“Oh, Seulgi, why did you break up with the boy in the first place?” Her mother shook her head in disappointment. Seulgi wanted to just escape to the train—if this was all her family would ever discuss until things died down, then it would be better off for her not to show her face until they forget about the issue.

More than it becoming a repetitive topic, it was truthfully still a painful reminder of why she broke up with Taeyong from the start. Most people believe that she’s cold-hearted, and they weren’t wrong, but Taeyong had completely blindsided her with the breakup. To be reminded daily of what he had done to her was starting to become exhausting.

Seulgi almost let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw Namjoon's family approach them. Her

friend looked like he was having a heated discussion with Seokjin, while their three younger siblings were playing around with themselves. Seeing them made her remember her conversation with Namjoon last night before she left his manor:

.

.

Finally, the night had come to an end. Most of the attendants were fighting off their yawns, Seulgi included, but some had still managed to slip from her mouth. It was a little over twelve, which means the ball ended two hours later than usual. It must have been because it would be their last social ball in a while.

Seulgi just spent the remainder of her time entertaining the twins, but she just couldn't shake off Taeyong’s—and consequently, everyone else’s—constant stare at her direction. Wasn't it enough that they had gotten the attention of every pureblood in attendance with his irrational and, frankly, stupid decisions? 

"See you tomorrow?" Seulgi squeezed Namjoon's hand tightly while she did her best to force out a smile. Her family was one of the first to bid farewell to the Kims, who had all gathered to see them off. She's been smothered by stares from absolutely every pureblood in attendance that she had looked forward to leaving more than anything else in her life at that moment.

Namjoon squeezed her hand tighter, offering her a small smile. "You'll be okay, won't you?"

“Oh, Joon-ah. You know I have to be.” She gave him a rueful smile in return.

"It'll get easier, I think." That was his way of consoling her, with his concise words, and she gratefully accepted them. 

One of his little sisters, Jisoo, who was only a year younger than them, approached Seulgi with a kind smile. She was an incoming fifth year from Hufflepuff, and she was the only one coming from that house in their family. Those things shouldn’t even matter in real life, because defining someone based on their school house sounds encaging and honestly utterly useless, Seulgi had observed. Outside of school, many of her pureblood friends from Slytherin weren’t as cunning or scheming as they appeared to be, nor were the Gryffindors as uprighteous as they pride themselves on to be, either. For her house, Ravenclaw, everyone was doing well in school, naturally, but she’s met her fair share from her house who was so clueless about everything else. 

As for Hufflepuff, it was no secret that a lot of the students from that house were hypocrites. There were rumours going around about how some Hufflepuffs actually bully their own—but isn’t it so ridiculous, Seulgi would always wonder, how those students who call others hypocrites aren’t aware of their own hypocrisy? And to even think of that thought is already hypocrisy on its own—the thought never fails to baffle her.

“Unnie, I’m honoured that you could make it to my family’s ball.” Jisoo’s eloquency could rival even her own, as her etiquette matches her polished look for tonight—a beautiful chiffon cream dress with their household sigil, a rose, embroidered in her chest, and a gold necklace with the same sigil on it.

The sigil of the Kang's were just as anyone who knew of the family expected it to be—an owl, of course, as that animal typically represents wisdom, something her household always prides upon.

"Oh, the honour's all mine." Seulgi smiled at her with sisterly affection. Other than Chaeyeon, Jisoo was another that she treated like an actual sibling, as she didn't have actual younger sisters.

"Go to the others, Jisoo-yah. Your oppa is talking to her," Namjoon shooed her away, causing her to glare at him for a split second before remembering where she was.

She curtly nodded. "I'll talk to you more tomorrow, unnie." With a farewell smile, she went back to her parents' side.

"Why are you always so mean to her?" Seulgi couldn't help but chuckle.

Namjoon shook his head. "That's not what's important right now," his voice dropped down to a whisper. "I overheard Taeyong and a few others talk about something in whispers when I passed by the washing room.”

Her heart started beating rapidly. Namjoon didn't know the details of her breakup with Taeyong, as she was worried what Namjoon might do to him if he find out, but it can't be that Taeyong would be so careless enough as to discuss something dangerous so openly. 

"What... Is it?" Her eyes widened as she anticipated his response.

He shook his head. "I couldn't hear properly, but death was mentioned a few times. Do you know what he's up to, Seul-ah? Is that why you broke up with him?”

Seulgi exhaled. He doesn't know. "Don't be ridiculous. They're just a bunch of spoiled rich purebloods, what harm could they possibly do?”

"You didn't answer my question.

She leaned back and took a step away from him. "I have to go. My parents are waiting for me.”

"Kang Seul..." Namjoon reached out to her, but she subtly shook her head. Now was neither the time nor the place to talk about such matters.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Joon-ah.”

.

.

Seulgi pursed her lips. This was not a conversation she was excited to partake in.

“Ahyeon eomoni, I hope you enjoyed my family’s ball last night.” Namjoon kissed her mother’s outreached hands as he smiled politely.

“Yes, it was certainly most splendid. Your family hosts amazing balls as always, Kim Namjoon,” Kang Ahyeon laughed lightly. The siren signalling the start of the train’s journey towards Hogwarts howled loudly across the platform. 

“Oh, dear, so soon?” She pulled Seulgi into a hug and whispered to her ear. “Do as you’ve always done, my dear Seulgi bear, and nothing will go wrong for our family. Do you understand?”

She knew perfectly well what her mother meant. She’s lived with that thinly-veiled threat all her life. “Crystal clear, eomma.” She released herself from her mother’s hug.

Her parents gave her a final wave before stepping backwards to the other families who were bidding farewell to their children. 

Seulgi gave them a small wave, then turned around and headed towards the train. I was wondering when that stupid siren was going to sound off, she irritatingly thought.

“Your mother’s so strict on you, as always,” Namjoon commented once they were inside the train. They immediately went right and walked straight until near the very end, where the compartments were reserved for Ravenclaws. 

He was correct, and there was nothing more to add to that, so she said nothing.

Finally reaching their compartment, they lugged their baggages inside.

It seems the two were the last to arrive, because everyone else was already seated in their seats: Jimin, Lisa, and Chaeyeon were already there, talking amongst themselves.

“We’re here,” Namjoon announced. Jimin helped Namjoon put their luggages in the corner while Chaeyeon ushered Seulgi so that she would sit next to her.

The train slowly began to move. Seulgi sighed in relief as she felt the distance between her and her parents gradually become farther. 

Ravenclaws are known to be a quiet bunch, and their compartment might be the poster children for that stereotype: Namjoon started reading another one of his books, Lisa and Jimin listening to music on their muggle contraptions, and Chaeyeon just silently clung to one of Seulgi’s arms as she stared at the breathtaking scenery outside the window of their compartment.

Seulgi closed her eyes. She couldn’t get much sleep last night so she was hoping no one would make a ruckus. Usually, something always goes wrong inside the train once it starts moving, but perhaps this time around the students have matured.

As if Merlin heard her, Chaeyeon started coughing repeatedly. “Chaeyeon-ah, did you take your meds?” Away from the watchful eyes of their parents, Seulgi always drops the unnecessary etiquette required from her.

She nodded and pointed towards the bag on top of the table. Seulgi immediately grabs it and looks for the prescribed medicine. She doesn’t even have to ask what kind it is because this is a normal occurrence for her sickly dongsaeng, no matter how frightening her cough attacks are.

She rummaged through the small medicine bag. “Are you sure it’s here? I don’t see it,” Seulgi’s eyebrows furrowed.

Chaeyeon gulped before coughing again. “I think-Jaehyun put i-i-it in h-his,” she squeezed her eyes shut in pain. “… b-bag,” she finished weakly.

Seulgi was starting to feel a bit alarmed, and so was everyone else in the compartment. “Should I go to him?” Jimin offered as he watched over Chaeyeon with concern.

“Yah, are you crazy? They’re going to eat you alive!” Lisa looked at him alarmingly. And there was the truth; the pureblood only act chummy outside of school, but once classes begin again, there was an undeniable hierarchy and interhouse hostility that one can’t just simply ignore.

“I’ll go,” Seulgi stood up. 

Namjoon looked up at her with obvious concern. “I can go with you.”

She was already at the door of their compartment when she looked back at him and replied. “I’m a prefect, remember? This is my responsibility.” And with that, she left their compartment to go to the opposite end of the train.

Because she was hurrying, she failed to see that someone was going to enter their compartment. “Ow—Kyungsoo oppa?”

Rubbing his head gingerly, he made a small bow and smiled at her warmly. “Where are you off to in such a rush, Seul-ah?”

Do Kyungsoo was, first and foremost, a muggle-born. His parents were both muggles, working as a lawyer and a doctor in the muggle world. Seulgi knew all of this because he told her himself. He was in Ravenclaw, just like her, and was also her co-prefect. He was by himself most of the time, perhaps because of his muggle ancestry, but that fact never seemed to bother him.

She didn’t know how, or why, but they ended up being friends in the past year. Her pureblood friends would tattle on her immediately if she was spotted hanging out with a muggle, but coming from the same house and having close friends within that house prevented anyone from outside knowing that.

“Chaeyeon-ah left her meds in Jaehyun’s bag and I have to—wait, were you going inside this compartment?”

He scratched his head. “Yeah, well, I was just going to greet you and,” he coughed as a blush rose to his cheeks. “Ask how your summer has been.”

It was rare for a boy not to show off in front of Seulgi, so Kyungsoo’s personality was always a breath of fresh air for her, but perhaps not at that moment. “I’m sorry, oppa, can we talk later? I really need to get Chaeyeon-ah’s meds now or else—“

“—I’ll come with you.” He touched her elbow. 

“Oppa, it’s in Taeyong-ah’s compartment,” she warned him. Taeyong was notorious for being merciless towards mudbloods, as he eloquently puts it. She didn’t want to put him in harm’s way if she could avoid it.

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” He remained steady. “This is part of my duty as a prefect, anyway. And besides, didn’t you used to date the guy?”

Sensing this was going nowhere, she proceeded to move, with Kyungsoo on her tracks. He was always quite stubborn, even with their prefect duties. “Yes, oppa, I used to date him.”

Quickly getting the message, Kyungsoo remained silent. The two walked quickly, their robes swaying as their feet moved rapidly.

Jaehyun was, no doubt, in a compartment with Taeyong, Jongin, Sehun, Krystal, and Ten, among others, and although she was already feeling dread for what was about to come, Chaeyeon’s safety trumped all her fears. She was definitely worried for her co-prefect, however: she didn’t know how she could defend him from the purist Slytherins. She could only do so much without attracting the attention of her fellow purebloods and make them suspicious.

Finally, they had reached the Slytherin territory; already they were being given sneers and stares from students of that house. Knowing he would demand his compartment to be at the very end, the two walked straight until the end of the walkway.

Seulgi took a deep breath as she held the door handle. She looked at Kyungsoo and sadly smiled at him. “Oppa,” she murmured. “This may get ugly, so I apologise in advance for whatever these idiots say to you.”

He chuckled. “I’ve had to deal with it for seven years now, Seul-ah. Don’t worry about me too much.”

She straightened her back. “Just because you’ve been dealing with it all this time doesn’t make it less wrong, oppa.” And with that, she opened the door of the compartment.

Immediately, she locked eyes with Taeyong. He was sitting at the seat closest to the window and looked solemn, as if he was waiting for her to arrive. For a brief second, Seulgi regretted having to do anything with him, because it just seems like her life is perpetually tangled with his no matter what happens.

The noise within the compartment went to a sudden stop. Ten was sitting beside Taeyong as always, but had looked up at her when she appeared. His eyes widened for a second before looking away. Jongin and Krystal were at the opposite side of the table, and both had seemed lost in their own world, but had also looked up when she entered. Jongin’s look wasn’t unkind, perhaps just curious as to why Seulgi came all the way to their compartment. 

Jongin and Seulgi was the classic case of best friends drifting apart from one another. Seulgi wasn’t angry about it, however: it was just a fact of life that people come and go. In his case, he drifted apart after he began dating Krystal. She never blamed her for it, though: how could she, when she had done the same to some of her friends when she had dated Taeyong before?

For Krystal, however, it was a bit different. There was always some unspoken rivalry between the two, due to their same age while both coming from prominent pureblood families. She didn’t think about it too much, but she felt that Krystal must have been jealous of her way back when Jongin was still one of her best friends, while her relationship with Taeyong was budding at the same time.

Nevertheless, it was all in the past, and there wasn’t much more Seulgi can do. The look Krystal was giving her was a look of cold indifference, which she thought suited her persona, actually.

Sehun was also there, right beside Jongin, and was giving Seulgi a teasing smirk. The Oh household was one of the secondary pureblood households, meaning they weren’t part of the prominent line, so they weren’t held in high regard as much as, say, the Lee’s or the Kang’s. But Seulgi had also grown up with him, and although they weren’t exactly close, she knew him enough to know he won’t harm her. She didn’t know what he would do to Kyungsoo and other muggleborns if even the opportunity, however.

And finally, she locked eyes with Jaehyun, who had immediately stood up once he saw her. His brown hair had caught the light, giving him a halo-like effect. Seulgi had the sudden urge to touch his hair, which she already knew to be soft, but, of course she would never—not when she’s being watched with these eyes, at least.

“Seul noona! What brings you here?” Jaehyun smiled at her radiantly and went to stand directly in front of her, giving her barely any personal space, but she understood what he was trying to do. He was blocking Taeyong’s view, so that he wouldn’t have a clear view of her, and in extension, he won’t be able to see Kyungsoo waiting outside the compartment. 

Jaehyun was the only one outside of Ravenclaw who knew she was friendly with her co-prefect. “Jaehyun-ah, your sister’s meds are in your bag and I need to bring them to her right now.”

His eyes widened momentarily before moving immediately to his luggages to, hopefully, retrieve Chaeyeon’s medicine.

Seulgi wanted to sigh in relief, but since Jaehyun wasn’t in front of her anymore, she was in direct view of Taeyong once again. 

He was still looking at her, this time less amused than a few minutes ago. Seulgi just looked back at him without saying a word. 

Then, he suddenly chuckled. “You’re really not going to say anything, are you?” He laid his hand on the table and rested his head on it. “You came all the way here—why not stay? For old times’ sake.”

“I’m just here to get Chaeyeon-ah’s medicine, so I really can’t.” And I definitely don’t want to, she added as an afterthought. 

“I’m sure you can get your co-prefect to fetch that to her,” his eyes bore into her own, as if telling her that she really doesn’t have a choice on that matter.

Catching on the implication of his words, she turned back to Kyungsoo, who looked confused. “Make sure you give Chaeyeon-ah her meds, okay, oppa?”

“Did she just call him oppa?” She could hear Ten relay the words to Taeyong. Why can’t he just keep his unnecessary and useless mouth shut, she always wondered?

Jaehyun wordlessly handed the bag to Kyungsoo, who looked quite perplexed. “But—is it really alright for you to stay?”

She allowed him a small smile. “I’ll be fine. I said it a while ago, didn’t I? Don’t worry about me.” She almost bit her tongue when she caught herself saying oppa again.

“If you’re gone for too long, I’m coming back for you.” And with that, he turned his heel and walked quickly, back to where Chaeyeon was.

Seulgi exhaled, with her back still facing the others. At least I won’t have to worry about Kyungsoo oppa anymore, she thought.

She faced them all once more, and this time hiding none of pureblood tendencies—which was overflowing confidence, no matter where she was. Yes, there was still interhouse hostility, but she was still Kang Seulgi—none of them would dare mess with her.

Especially since she’s always been a cold personality to the purebloods. With the exception of Namjoon and the younger Jung twins, none of them have seen her smile warmly at all. And that was still true up to this day: she didn’t care for these people, not after observing and being with these people for so long.

Taeyong grinned at her sudden personality change. “You’ll stay here for a while, won’t you?”

She smiled at him coldly. “It seems that what I told you last night wasn’t very clear to you.”

He chuckled at her before glaring at Ten. “Are you just going to let her stand, Ten-ah?”

Ten quickly left his seat and looked at her ruefully, but said nothing. “When are you going to stop following his orders like a dog?” She looked at him with so much iciness that he couldn’t respond to her insult. Not only were the Chittaphon-Pranpriya less than the Kang’s in importance, he was also two years younger than her. How dare he look at her like that?

Seulgi took the offered seat, as if she was given it wilfully. Jaehyun, who sat on her other side, smiled at her innocently, but she knew questions will be asked later, without the prying eyes of his fellow Slytherins.

Taeyong, with no prior warning, stroked her cheek gently with the back of his hand. “Let’s get back together, hmm?”

She caressed his inner wrist hidden within the long sleeves of their school robes. He was surprised for a second before locking his eyes with her. “I really don’t want to, though?”

“Just give it up, Taeyong-ah,” Krystal intercepted. Surprised, the two looked at her irritated face. “She’ll come back eventually—we always do.” she smirked.

“Yeah,” Jongin quietly agreed. “There’s no use forcing her, Taeyong-ah.”

Taeyong leaned back. “Is that so (그레//keu-re)?”

Seulgi hid some of her hair behind her ear and leaned towards Taeyong. “You’ve never been the type to listen to others, though?”she kissed him straight on the lips, much to everyone’s surprise, him most of all. 

“You know why I broke up with you, Taeyong-ah. Perhaps you should reflect more on that instead of blindly trying to get me back.”

She leaned back and smiled coldly at him, who looked like he just got slapped. Seulgi then faced a thoroughly confused Jaehyun and squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll see you in Hogwarts.” she patted his cheek affectionately before standing up.

“Leaving so soon?” Sehun called out to her, and he looked like he was just about to burst in laughter. “We haven’t had a proper chat yet, though.”

Seulgi rolled her eyes. “Perhaps… next time, Sehunnie.” Not even bothering to greet anyone else, she exited the compartment.

She continued on her icy persona as she walked by the gawking Slytherins, who were most likely eavesdropping and had heard their conversation. 

“I wonder why she’s in Ravenclaw, with that sharp tongue…”

“That’s why she got along so well with Taeyong sunbae, you dimwit.”

“Oh, but you heard that, didn’t you? They broke up—“

Seulgi whipped her head at the gossiping students. She had no idea who the two girls were, but they were definitely second years, from the ties they were wearing. “If I ever see your faces again in school, it won’t be a good time for you both.” she threatened the two, making them hurry off to the safety of their compartments.

Seulgi was bubbling in anger. She was doing her best precisely not to be the entitled and cruel pureblood that she is, but it’s so hard to break a habit that’s been formed ever since she was a child. 

Soon enough, she had reached her compartment. She opened the door and immediately looked for Chaeyeon.

She seemed to be asleep, as she was leaning on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Seulgi couldn’t help but break out a smile. Because she’s been so warm to Kyungsoo, Chaeyeon must have opened her heart to him as well. She rarely interacts with anyone because of her condition and bloodline, but it’s quite touching, actually, to see how much trust Chaeyeon puts in her.

“I didn’t know you planned on staying,” Namjoon glared at her as she squeezed herself between him and Kyungsoo.

“Please, Joon-ah, not now,” she murmured, already closing her eyes.

Kyungsoo squeezed her hand but said nothing. As if she just remembered, she opened her eyes and observed their compartment. Surprisingly enough, the others weren’t bothered by the fact that a muggleborn was here with them. Well, he is well-respected in Ravenclaw, Seulgi reasoned.

Unperturbed, Namjoon started poking her cheeks. “Spit it out, Kang Seul.”

He did it for a few minutes before she gave up and looked at him square in the eye. “Krystal talked to me directly for what must be the first time ever, I insulted Ten for reasons I can’t quite remember, and,” she breathed deeply. “I kissed Taeyong-ah.”

Namjoon whistled. “You were busy in that compartment, huh.”

“You kissed him?” Kyungsoo interrupted. “But I thought you two had broken up for months now?”

“Unnie, why did you insult Ten oppa? Was he giving you one of his scary glares again?” Chaeyeon, who had apparently woken up, was also looking at her.

“You insulted oppa?” Lisa laughed out loud. “Serves him right, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

“I wonder why Krystal unnie decide to talk to you now, after all this time?” Jimin wondered out loud.

“Oh, I don’t know, (몰라//mol-la)” she rested her head on Namjoon’s wide shoulders and closed her eyes shut. “Let’s not discuss this anymore. None if it is relevant, anyway.”

Appealing to their intellectual minds, she knew they would take the bait if she pointed it out. Kyungsoo laughed at her obvious tactic. “Get some rest, Seul-ah. We’ve still got a little over an hour before we get to school.”

Seulgi smiled as she heard everyone murmuring at how she had gotten them. “Please wake me up before the train arrives so we can do our rounds.” She was referring to their required inspection and head count of all the Ravenclaw compartments, as this was part of their prefect duties. 

And with the incident from a while ago finally out of her head, she relaxed into her seat and clung nearer to Namjoon, who was surprisingly very manly with his tall stature and wide shoulders.

Before she drifted off to sleep, she felt her left hand suddenly behind held by someone and caressing it gently. She let out a small smile and was going to call him out on it, but the repeated motions soon lulled her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, Jisoo and Lisa from BLACKPINK are in So Far Away! I don’t have anything against BLACKPINK, and I don’t believe in all the if-you’re-a-fan-of-this-group-you-can’t-be-a-fan-of-their-rival-group business. I like Whistle and I think Jisoo’s gorgeous, but I still like Red Velvet way more. (Especially now because of their newest release—their choreography got me SHOOK) 
> 
> I love reading comments! Please let me know what you think of the story, about Red Velvet's new release, anything really! As all of you probably already know, writers get more encouraged to finish a chapter when they see people actually reading their story. :)
> 
> P.S. To those who read my other work, An Encore, rest assured that I didn't abandon the story! I'm just a into Harry Potter (and Jaehyun) a bit more lately so I've been working on this instead. But An Encore is definitely still on my mind!
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this chapter. Also, do you know which pairings have been established so far? It's kind of vague, isn't it? Also another quick sidenote: EXO's Kyungsoo is my ULTIMATE, ultimate bias. Like, he's even higher than Taehyung or Jimin. Like, I have his official photocard from Exodus hidden within my school ID. It's been a solid year and five months, and I'm still going strong for him. Tell me he brings EXO down and I will fight you.
> 
> Again, thanks for reading! x

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back at it again with another Kang Seulgi story! This time, the story will center around her and NCT members (because I am currently a hoe for them. Not that I stopped being a hoe for BTS. I'm more of a rotational hoe.)
> 
> I've always lowkey shipped Seulgi and Taeyong after seeing their photoshoot from when they were both part of SMRookies, but after reading a story here in AFF about Seulgi and Jaehyun in a cafe setting (I can't remember the title but please read it if you can! I'm sure you'll find it in the seulgi/nctvelvet/jaehyun tags), I strongly ship the two as well. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, at this point, I ship Seulgi with everyone. But I digress.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the story! Cheers x


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